


Ties That Bind Us

by Northern_Lady



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wolverine (Comics), Wolverine (Movies), Wolverine and the X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cutting, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Hunting, Hurt/Comfort, Language, Mutant Powers, Original Character-centric, Psychological Trauma, Road Trips, Siblings, Trauma, Twins, Violence, feral mutants, life - Freeform, not much adventure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 11:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11147445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: In this AU, Logan's grandchildren show up at his place in Mexico looking for help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place shortly before the events of the movie Logan but in this universe (as in the comic books) Victor Creed is not his brother. This references a story from the Wolverine Origins comic book when Logan met Victor and his sister Clara Creed.

Logan had just finished giving Charles his medicine. He heard a vehicle driving up as he was leaving the tank. He stepped out into the warm summer air and found that an old white jeep wrangler had driven up and parked. The top was off the vehicle and two blonde teenagers were climbing out. 

“Are you James Howlett?” The boy asked. His longish blonde hair was sticking up in odd places and might have made Logan think that this kid was an X-Men fan and had styled his hair like that on purpose if not for the fact that it had obviously grown in the same pattern as his own hair did. 

“Yeah, I’m James Howlett. Who are you?” 

“I’m Will, this is my sister Cassie,” The boy said. “A long time ago, did you used to know a woman named Clara Creed?” 

Logan remembered Clara. Not everything about Clara was clear to him because his memories had been tampered with but he did remember her enough to know that he had cared for her once. “Yeah. What’s it to you?” 

“She was our grandmother and we’re pretty sure you might be our grandfather,” Will held up a fist and revealed that he had three metal claws. 

“Shit…” Logan mumbled. The bone claw mutation wasn’t a common one and this kid’s hair and the girl’s resemblance to what he remembered of Clara were clear evidence that this kid might be telling the truth. It might be true and yet he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. “If Clara is your grandmother that would make your parents like ninety years old,” He pointed out, wanting an explanation. 

“You’re right,” Will agreed. “Our Dad didn’t really age. He spent most of his life in the wilds of Alberta. He kept to himself and didn’t see any people for years at a time. Our Mom was thirty when she met him. She was on a camping trip and her boyfriend got rough with her. Dad found them and made him stop. She never left him after that. So yeah, our Dad was pretty old, Mom not so much.” 

“Okay, so even if all that’s true, what the fuck are you doing here? You hoping I’ll visit your school for grandparents day or something?” Logan asked them. 

“We need your help,” Will said. “Three years ago some people came to our house and took Cassie and me to this place.They killed our mom when they took us. Then they took us to a lab with a bunch of scientists and military people. It was on a boat. They gave us adamantium claws. Dad came after us and tried to break us out...anyway, when Dad broke us out of there...they um...he didn’t make it...they drowned him...and now there’s something wrong with Cassie, something they did to her and I can’t take care of her by myself...that’s why I need your help…” 

“What’s wrong with her?” Logan asked, glancing at the girl who had yet to speak a word. She looked ordinary enough. She was just a regular teenage girl with long braided blonde hair and blue eyes. 

“Sometimes she breaks into these rages. It’s like she forgets who she is and she just starts trying to kill everything and everyone near her. When she gets like that, I can’t always stop her before she kills people. I know she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She isn’t right in the head anymore. She’s just scared because of what they did to her but… I can’t watch her all day every day. I need help.” Will admitted a little sadly. 

“Look kid, I have know way of knowing if your story is even true and even if it is, you’re not my problem.” Logan said frankly. 

“You know it’s true,” Will protested. “Dad used to say that Cassie looks just like his mom. And my hair is as stupid looking as yours is...plus Cassie and I both have the claws... It’s true and since you gave us this mutation we are your problem whether you like it or not.” 

Logan just stared at them for a moment. As if it wasn’t enough trouble trying to keep the world safe from Charles, now he was supposed to keep people safe from the rampages of a feral mutant teenage girl? “My hair isn’t stupid looking,” he finally said. 

“Whatever you say, Gramps. So can we hang around here or not?” Will said. 

“How old are you kids?” Logan asked them, not committing to any answer just yet. 

“Fifteen. Cassie and I are twins. We’re fifteen.” Will told him. 

“Huh.” Logan all but grunted. As much as he didn’t like to admit it, Will was right. Someone had to be responsible for them and it was beginning to look like that person was him. “Come inside and have something to eat. We’ll figure something out.” 

Will grinned and then he nodded to Cassie’s She followed her brother and watched Logan warily as if she didn’t know what to make of this strange old man. She stopped as they came to the door and refused to go further. 

“Come on Cassie? We’re just gonna go in and get some food. No one here is gonna hurt you,” Will said, trying to convince her to go inside. 

Cassie shook her head. She didn’t want to go inside. “Not alone...not alone in there...not alone…” She mumbled. 

“Yeah, I know,” Will said. “I smell more people here too. I’m sure it’s fine.” He turned to Logan, “It is fine right? Your friends are safe?” 

“Yeah, that’s just Caliban and Charles. They don’t mean any harm,” he said. Charles was dangerous but he would never hurt anyone on purpose. 

Reluctantly, Cassie followed her brother inside and took the sandwich that was offered to her. 

“Who are your friends, Logan?” Caliban came out of one of the bedrooms into the kitchen. 

“Take a look at them,” Logan said, “Who do you think they are?” 

Caliban looked a second time, his eyes stopping on Will’s hair. “These are relatives of yours?” 

“They say they’re my grandkids. The story almost sounds true to me,” Logan admitted. Some part of him hoped that Caliban would say there was no room for two more people to stay with them. That would solve this whole problem without him having to kick out his own grandchildren. “This is WIll and Cassie,” He told Caliban. “You two have a last name?” 

“It’s Creed.” Will said. 

“Well if they’re staying I could use some help clearing out the clutter from the back room,” Caliban said. 

“They’re not staying,” Logan said. “Not for long anyway. We’ll figure out some better place they can go.” 

“There is no place better,” Will argued. “You don’t understand how dangerous Cassie is. She needs to be here, far away from regular humans, with mutants who can help her.” 

“How is she dangerous?” Caliban asked, a little worried. 

“She isn’t the same as she used to be,” WIll explained. “She gets scared and she destroys things and sometimes she kills whoever is in her way when she gets angry.” 

“Oh, well if that’s all, that’s not so different from what I already live with,” Caliban looked at Logan pointedly. 

“Hey, I don’t…” Logan started to disagree. 

“So you didn’t shred the steel door two weeks ago when you forgot your key?” Caliban asked. 

“Well, I had a bad day. Had to get in somehow.” Logan shrugged. 

“There’s getting in and then there’s tearing the door apart and shredding it into thirty pieces,” Caliban pointed out. “What’s one more feral mutant added to the mix? Or maybe two...are you given to bouts of rage too, Will?” 

“Not really. Not much of anything makes me angry. I mean, it made me angry when those bastards killed my mom and I did try to kill them right back, but my anger was under control. I knew what I was doing. Cassie though...Cassie doesn't even know when she’s angry or scared...it’s like she’s not even here…” 

“So she might try to kill me?” Caliban asked. 

“Yeah, you or me or anyone who happens to be near enough. I try not to leave her alone though. I just need a little help from other people who can watch her sometimes,” Will explained. He sounded weary, as if the job of caring for his sister was taking a toll on him. 

Logan found that he felt a little sorry for this kid. Will was only fifteen and was saddled with the job of keeping people safe from his sister and keeping his sister safe from the world. 

Caliban caught Logan’s gaze at Will, shook his head and sighed. “There’s no sense in pretending you’re not going to let them stay. We might as well get started clearing out the back room.” 

Logan followed Caliban to the unused room and set to work.


	2. Chapter 2

Logan woke in the middle of the night to the sound of Cassie’s screams. There was a commotion going on the the bedroom that the twins shared. He got up quickly and went to see what had happened. Cassie’s claws were out and she was in a violent angry rage hacking at the walls, the curtains, the beds, her brother, anything she could reach. 

“Cassie, wake up!” Will was shouting at her, trying to keep some distance between himself and her claws. There was blood on his shirt from where he’d already been stabbed twice. His claws weren’t out. 

She turned to the sound of his voice and charged at him, ready to plunge her claws into her brother’s chest. Logan caught her before she could do that. He spun her around so she faced away from him and he held on to her firmly, pinning down her arms so she couldn’t stab anyone. She screamed with rage and she struggled against him but she couldn’t get herself free. Will’s wounds healed as he watched her with concern. 

“How long will she stay like this?” Logan asked him. 

“It could be a few hours.” Will said. He went to one of his drawers and pulled out a heavy chain shackle. “Sometimes I have to chain her up. I don’t like doing it though.” 

“Yeah, let’s not do that. I’ll just hang onto her for now.” He backed his way out of the room and pulled her with him to the living room. She was screaming and fighting him the entire way there. He sat down on the floor in front of the sofa and gave her no choice but to sit down on the floor with him. 

Will followed them out to the living room. He watched worriedly as Logan sat on the floor with his sister. Will looked exhausted. 

“Does she do this every night for a few hours?” Logan asked him. 

Will nodded, wiping away some stray blood on his arm. “Almost every night for the past two years.” 

“Go back to bed kid,” Logan told him. “I got this tonight.” It wasn’t just Cassie who needed him. Will did too. 

“Are you sure?” Will asked, hesitant to leave his sister in someone else’s care. Cassie was growling and struggling to free herself from Logan’s grasp. 

“Yeah, you need sleep. I got this.” Logan told him a second time. 

Will nodded, relief evident on his face and he turned and went back to bed. 

Cassie struggled to get away for a long while. After ten minutes she seemed to give up only to resume screaming and growing and struggling after a few minutes of silence. The pattern went on for over an hour before she suddenly snapped back to reality. He knew she was back by the way her growls changed to sobbing and her struggling changed to her collapsing against his chest in a puddle of tears. 

“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry…” she sobbed,” Did I hurt anyone?” 

“Not too much,” Logan told her. 

“Where’s Will?” She pulled free of his arms and moved to sit down on the floor next to him. 

“I sent him back to bed. I thought he could use the rest.” Logan told her. 

“He definitely could. I am a burden to him keeping him awake every night like I do.” 

“I don’t think he sees it that way. I’m pretty sure your brother loves you.” 

“You can still love someone even if they’re a burden.” Cassie said. 

Logan didn’t argue with that. They sat there in silence for several minutes before Logan spoke again. “Maybe you had best go to bed too.” 

She bit her lip. “I don’t want to. There’s game out there to hunt. I’d rather be outside than sleeping.” 

“When was the last time you hunted?” he asked her. It could be that if she had the chance to hunt, she might have less of this rage she struggled with. 

“It’s been months. Eight months. I can smell something out there right now…I’ve been smelling it all day…” 

Logan got to his feet. “Let’s go then.” 

“You’re letting me hunt?” she got up, surprised and confused. 

“I think it might help if you do.” 

“Will never lets me hunt. Dad wouldn’t let me either. He said there was no need to kill things just for the sake of killing them and he refused to allow his daughter to act like a wild beast.” She said a little angry. 

“Well, whatever you kill, we’re gonna eat it. It won’t be a waste. As for being a beast, it’s not exactly something either of us can escape. Not entirely. Though it wouldn’t hurt to try to be a little human sometimes.” 

Logan and Cassie stayed out hunting for the rest of the night. He hadn’t done any hunting in years and he certainly didn’t have the energy for it that she did. By the time morning came, Cassie had gotten her prey. 

Will was outside waiting for them when they returned with the deer that she had killed. “You went hunting?” he said sadly. 

“Yeah, it seemed like a hunt might do her some good,” Logan said. 

“It might, but I’m pretty sure she’s faster than you. What if she’d run off during one of her rages?” Will asked, not too happy. 

“She didn’t,” Logan said. “Besides, I’m not so old and feeble as you think, kid.” 

“Look Gramps, Cassie is faster than I am. That’s why I discourage the hunting thing. If I can’t always keep up with her, how can you?” 

“I know you’re trying to take care of your sister here, but you don’t own her. She’s feral. She needs an outlet. If you wanna stay here we’re gonna do things my way. That means she hunts sometimes. Is that clear?” Logan said firmly. 

“Yep. Totally clear,” Will said and instead of going back into the house he headed for the woods. 

A few hours later Will was back. The deer had been butchered and moved to the freezer. Everyone except him had already eaten breakfast and were watching TV. Caliban was mending some torn clothes, Charles was in the house too watching TV with Logan and Cassie. Will went to the kitchen and rinsed out an empty soda bottle. He filled it with milk from the fridge and then dug out a rubber glove from under the kitchen sink and cut one of the fingers off. 

“What the heck are you doing?” Logan asked as Will pulled the finger of the glove down over the top of the bottle and poked a hole in the end of the finger. 

“I’m making things right is what I’m doing,” Will said and he turned and went outside, taking the bottle with him. 

Logan got to his feet and followed Will out the door to see what he was up to. Cassie followed him, Caliban and Charles stayed inside watching TV. There in the dusty front yard Will was knelt down next to a deer fawn feeding it a bottle of milk. 

“This fawn belonged to the deer I killed?” Cassie asked. 

“It did. But you knew that Cassie. Your sense of smell works perfectly fine unlike Gramps.” Will said, and he actually sounded a little irritated. “You knew during your hunt that this little guy was out there but you were too caught up in the hunt to actually care.” 

Cassie looked down at her feet looking guilty. “It’s just a deer. You eat deer meat same as I do.” she said a little defensively. 

“Yeah, I do when I have to.” Will agreed. “Just because I’m okay with killing an animal to eat to survive doesn’t mean I’m okay with leaving an animal alone to starve. Dad taught us better than that and you know it.” 

“No, Dad taught YOU better than that!” Cassie replied. “You were always his favorite because you could tame the wild animals and I can do is kill them!” 

“Cassie, calm down. You’re scaring him,” Will said almost gently as he tried to quiet the skittish fawn. 

“So you’re not even going to try to deny it?” Cassie demanded, growing more upset. 

“Deny what?” Will began, “You mean about Dad? Cassie, we’ve been over this before. Just because Dad didn’t always understand you doesn’t mean…” Will trailed off. 

“See? You know it’s true. You can’t even lie about it.” Cassie said. She turned and fled back into the house. 

“Is that true what she said?” Logan asked Will as he calmed and fed the fawn. 

Will sighed. “Mostly yeah. Dad didn’t really understand her. He cared about her but mostly he tried to change her. He was worried about her. He was worried that if he let her hunt and stuff that it would be even harder for her to control herself. I don’t know if he was wrong or right about that but I do know that since the lab she has been more violent than she ever was before.” 

“And you don’t know what they did to her there?” 

“We were separated once we got there. Whatever they did, she doesn’t talk about it.” Will explained. 

Logan watched for a moment longer as Will fed the wild fawn as if it nothing more than a kitten. “I have to go to work in a few hours. I’m taking a nap until then. You two will be alright while I’m gone?” 

“You were up all night. You’re gonna be okay to drive tired like that all day?” Will asked. 

“Yeah,” Logan said, irritated with this kid always trying to make him feel old. “I’ll manage somehow.” He turned and headed back into the house. 

“Maybe you ought to bring your cane and your hearing aids just in case, Gramps.” Will called after him joking. 

“I’ll be sure to get you some diapers while I’m out, kid,” Logan called back and he heard Will laughing as he walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Logan didn’t get back from his shift driving that night until the middle of the night. He arrived home and was greeted by chaos. All the lights were on. Will and Cassie were awake. She was in one of her rages and was doing a pretty good job of escaping Will’s grasp. Not only were the two of them awake and making a ruckus, Charles was awake as well. Logan could hear Charles shouting at Caliban out in the tank. Whatever he was saying, it was nonsense. In the front yard, the little fawn was running around frantic. 

“Doesn’t anyone sleep around here?” Logan muttered. He made his way to the bedroom where Will had gotten hold of Cassie again. “You got this? Charles and Caliban are having some troubles too…” 

“Yeah, Charles has been at it longer than Cassie. All his shouting woke her up. Go ahead…” 

It took almost an hour to get Charles settled. Logan returned to the house utterly exhausted and hoped to find that Cassie was asleep as well. She wasn’t in her bed asleep though. She wasn’t even in her room. Will was gone too. 

“She went after the fawn,” Caliban said behind him on seeing the empty bedroom. “Will went after her.” 

“Shit.” Logan turned and headed out the door after them. This wasn’t going to be good. In her feral state, Cassie might not be aware she was hunting a fawn. Will was pretty attached to that animal already and had admitted that Cassie was faster than he was. This was not going to end well. 

He found Cassie not far from the house. She was on her knees gazing at the fawn which was dead next to her. “You okay, kid?” he asked her. 

“I killed him. I killed him and now Will hates me.” she said, frustrated. 

“Where is Will?” Logan asked her. 

“I don’t know. When I came back to reality, I tried to tell him I was sorry. He wouldn’t talk to me. He just...left.” 

“He’ll come back though. He came back the last time he ran off.” Logan said, “And we both know that you didn’t really know what you were doing. It’s not your fault.” 

“I don’t remember what happened…” Cassie admitted. “I never remember. Maybe I did know what I was doing. Maybe I did want to kill this fawn. I wanted to kill its mother. I remember that. Maybe I am just a beast.” 

Logan sighed. He reached out a hand to help her up. “Come on Cassie. Let’s go inside.” 

Wordlessly she took his hand and let him help her up. Then she followed him inside. Logan knew she was still thinking about being a beast. He stopped outside her bedroom door. “You’re not a beast.” he told her. “Not the monster kind of beast anyway. We just gotta figure what it is that happened to you and why you can’t remember what happens to you at night…”

“I guess so,” She halfheartedly agreed. 

“You don't want to figure it out?” Logan asked, realizing it was the truth. 

“I don't want to remember the lab. Will told me what they did to him. That was bad enough. I don't want to know what they did to me. Sometimes I remember bits and pieces and wish I hadn't. I don't want to know more.” 

“What did they do to Will?” he asked, just looking for a little insight. 

“They did lots of tests at first. Blood tests, x-rays, brain scans, then they gave him the adamantium claws. He was awake for that. After that they tried different sorts of control collars to make him do what they wanted. They taught him to fight. Made him kill people….”

Logan thought about that for a moment. Will seemed remarkably well adjusted after all they had done to him. It had to have affected him somehow. The question was, how? “How is it that Will seems okay after all that?” 

“Oh, he’s not okay. The real difference between us is that Will remembers everything and he refuses to hurt anyone except for himself.” Cassie explained. 

Great. Logan knew he couldn't go to bed yet in spite of his exhaustion. “You should get some sleep. I’m gonna go find Will.” 

“I don't know what he’ll do if you try to stop him,” Cassie said. “I found him once hacking at himself with his claws. I might be faster than he is but he’s stronger than me. He didn't hurt me but he chained me to a tree so I couldn't stop him....if you're gonna go looking for him, be careful.” 

Logan found Will some thirty or forty minutes later. The boy was covered in blood. Several trees around him had their bark clawed off and Will claws on his right hand were sunk deep into his left thigh. 

“Will?” Logan said, he knew the kid had heard and smelled his approach. 

“What?” he said, his voice raw. 

“You do this sort of thing often?” Logan asked him, hoping he could just talk him into stopping this time. 

“Go away Gramps,” Will said, pulling the claws from his leg and stabbing in another spot. 

“I’m not going anywhere until you stop this.” 

“I can outrun you.” Will reminded him. 

“Like I said before, I’m not so old and feeble as you think. Besides you're not interested in running. You're just interested in trying to end the pain in your mind.” 

“What would you know about it?” Will said, a little angry. 

“Quite a lot actually and I’m pretty sure this isn't the way to fix it.” 

“I suppose you know the right way to fix it then?” Will asked, still upset. 

Logan shook his head. “Not really. My way usually involved beer.” 

“You gonna let me have a beer?” 

“You gonna stop cutting yourself up?” 

“Probably not,” Will admitted. 

“Look kid, I’m tired. I been up all night already and I’m not a damn therapist. You can either stop this shit right now and come back to the house or I can chain you up and make you come back. Which is it gonna be?” 

Will got to his feet. “Fine.” he said and he followed Logan back, his head down the entire way. 

After the long night they’d had, no one woke up until well past noon the next day. 

***********

“I need to find a job.” Will said as they had lunchtime breakfast that next day. “I can't just sit here and do nothing all.” 

“You really should be in school,” Charles said. 

“I don't need school.” Will said, a little irritated. 

“You shouldn't dismiss the value of an education.” Charles said. 

“I’m not knocking education,’ Will argued. “I’m happy to study. I’ll read anything you want me to read. Education is fine. School not so much.” 

“Maybe it would be fine this time Will.” Cassie spoke up. “It would be a new school, new people...it’s been a long time since fifth grade…” 

“She and Charles have a point,” Logan agreed. “School might not be a bad idea.” 

“I’m not going to any goddamn school!” Will got to his feet so quickly that he knocked over the chair he was sitting in. His claws were out. “I won't go and if you try to make me I will fight you!” he turned to leave the room and kicked his chair out of his way. 

“Will?” Logan shouted after him. “Come back here right now.” He hadn’t known Will long but he knew the kid was capable of being more respectful than this. Will kept going and didn’t look back. Logan got to his feet to go after him. 

“Logan, let him go,” Charles said. “He’s not going to hurt himself this time.” 

“What was that all about?” Caliban asked as Logan sat back down. 

“It was about something that happened when we were in fifth grade,” Cassie said. “He wouldn’t like me to tell you but...I guess I’m going to anyway.” She began. “See, Will doesn’t just calm animals. He communicates with them. He knows what they feel. It’s like they can talk to each other. Sometimes he feels what they feel. Anyway, in fifth grade we had a class pet, a guinea pig named Bob. Will talked to Bob every day in spite of how much the other kids laughed at him for it. Then one day Bob got sick. Will knew that Bob had eaten something he shouldn’t have. He knew that the animal was in pain and he told the teacher. The thing is, Bob looked perfectly fine so she didn’t believe him. For three days Will suffered stomach pains right along with Bob and he told our teacher again and again that someone had poisoned our pet. She didn’t believe him until we got to school one morning and Bob was dead. At that point the teacher decided that Will couldn’t have known that Bob was sick unless he had caused it himself. She made him stand in front of the class and confess what he did. Of course Will never hurt Bob and he tried to say so, but the teacher said he could either apologize to the class or she would call our father. He told her to call Dad. He knew Dad would know Will would never hurt an animal. Dad believed him and the teacher was so mad that she announced what she believed he’d done to the whole class anyway. After that the kids hated him...they hated him for something that he never did and had tried to prevent… and it was a small town, small school. Those kids never forgot.” 

“That’s terrible,” Caliban said. Logan nodded agreement. 

As they finished up their meal they heard a noise outside. Logan went out to find out what it was and to talk to Will. He found Will outside with an ax chopping down a tree. “We haven’t go a fireplace,” Logan said. “Not much use for wood.” 

“I know. It’s just habit,” Will said. “Dad always made me chop wood if I got angry, not that I got angry very often, but when I did he’d send me to split firewood.” 

“Sounds like your father was a smart man. Too bad I didn’t get to meet him.” Logan said. “Did he know who his father was his whole life?” 

“He knew, and he did find you and meet you, but the second time he saw you, your memory had been erased and you didn’t remember him. He never told you who he was though. He just introduced himself as Ben at some bar in Calgary.” Will told him. “He said he liked you. He even said that meeting you helped him to make more sense of Cassie.” 

“You mean he met me since Cassie was born? I remember a Ben in Calgary some ten years back,” Logan said, a little surprised. 

“Yeah, it was about then,” Will said, the tree was down and his woodpile was growing larger. 

“Huh,” Logan grunted, unable to fathom the fact that he had met his son and hadn’t even known it. “Cassie told us what happened to you at school.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” WIll said, splitting a log with a lot more force than necessary. 

“You don’t have to. You don’t have to go to school either. I don’t see how we’d make it work being out here in Mexico anyway. Charles will come up with things for you to study. If it’s a job you want, what sort of work you looking to do?” 

“After Cassie and I escaped the lab, we went home to our house in Canada. It was a cabin pretty far from town and no one knew at first that our parents were dead so I got a job with a neighbor farm haying. They liked that I could load up so many more hay bales than the other guys and in the winter they hired me to do all sorts of odd jobs on their farm. Chopping wood, running the milk machines for their cows, shoveling manure out of the barns,,, It worked out cause Cassie and I needed a little money...I don’t really care what sort of work I do. I just need to be busy.” 

“So while you were working, what did Cassie do?” 

“She locked herself in the cabin all day at first. After a few months though, she started going out to hunt and sometimes she’d make necklaces and crafts and stuff to sell online. I don’t think she wants to stay in all day anymore.” 

“Probably not. We’ll figure it out. I think I might know someplace you can get a job. I’ll check into it tonight. How much longer before you can get a license to drive that jeep you drove here?” Logan asked. 

“Three months,” Will said. “I have a fake license for now. That’s how I got over the border.” 

“Yeah, we’re gonna have to get you a real one.” 

Will nodded. He had slowed down on chopping wood. He was calmed down at that point. “Gramps, is it true that the adamantium is poisoning you?” 

“Yeah,” Logan admitted. 

“And you’re not gonna do anything like see a doctor?” Will asked. 

“There’s nothing a doctor can do for me.” 

“What about a healer? I know a mutant healer back home. She could heal anybody of any illness or injury. I think she could help you.” 

“I doubt it.” Logan said. “I’m probably already too far gone. Besides, I’m not going to Canada.” 

“Why not? Do you want to die or something?” Will asked. 

“Everyone dies,” Logan pointed out. 

“Yeah, but why die if you don’t have to? It’s not time for you yet. You’ve got too many people who need you.” WIll said. 

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t. All of you would be just fine without me. Caliban would take care of Charles and you’d find a job and Cassie would hunt. You don’t actually need me for anything.” 

“Yes, we do,” Cassie said from somewhere behind him. “I need to learn how to live with who I am. I don’t think anyone else can teach me that. Will you come with us to meet Kendra? Maybe she could help you.” 

Logan backed away from the both of them. “You two are nuts. I’m not going anywhere.” And he left them to go bring Charles his medicine.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Cassie and Will had stayed with Logan for two weeks, they had settled into a routine. Between the studies that Charles came up with for them during his lucid moments and the chores that Caliban needed help with and the part time job Will had taken at a local ranch, there was plenty to keep them busy. The nights were often busy too. Cassie was up most nights having one of her violent rages and a few times Charles was awake too. Then one night near the end of the second week Logan brought home a powerful sedative, one that was powerful enough to knock out a horse and offered it to Cassie in hopes that everyone could get an entire night of rest for once. She accepted the sedative and it worked. She stayed asleep, everyone stayed asleep. 

Logan was the last person to wake up that next morning. He awoke to the sound of Cassie’s scream or squeal maybe, followed by her laughter, then Will’s laughter. He got up and checked out the window where the sound had come from. The twins were outside washing the car and Cassie was soaking wet. Will’s water bucket was empty. Cassie threw her own water bucket at her brother and he grabbed the garden hose as revenge. It was just a playful water fight but Logan honestly hadn't seen such happiness in a long time. Watching his grandchildren laughing like this made him feel something he couldn't quite define. He didn't want to define it. He didn't want any feelings to be there. This happiness of theirs wasn't going to last. It was only a matter of time before he fucked up everything and they got killed or hurt because of him. He moved away from the window and set to work changing a bandage on his hand and getting dressed. The whole process was disturbed by the sounds of laughter outside. 

That afternoon Logan had planned to take off from working. Charles was watching some old western movie in the livingroom and Caliban had donned his many layers of clothing and gone into the city to shop for groceries. Will had gone off into the woods after a wounded bird that he hoped to help and Cassie was in her room reading. Logan got himself a sandwich and sat down on the sofa to watch this movie that Charles had selected. A short time later Cassie came out of her room and sat down next to him. 

“I want to thank you for the sedative,” she said. “It was really nice to wake up and not have to wonder who I might have hurt while I was asleep.” 

“You're welcome. I can get more of them if you want.” Logan offered. 

She nodded. “I do want more. Maybe a little less of a dose next time. I feel like I’m still tired.” Cassie leaned a little closer to him and let her head rest on his shoulder. A short time later she was asleep. 

Will returned an hour later with a bird in a box. He brought it to the kitchen and got out some medical tape to set its broken wing. “Do you have a pencil or a stick or something?” Will called out. “My hands are kind of full. I could use some help.” 

Logan moved to get up and help Will. Cassie awoke with a start. “Don't go…” she said, catching his arm. 

“I’m only going to the kitchen to help Will.” Logan told her as he paused the movie. 

She nodded, trying to make herself calm down. “Okay.” 

Logan helped Will to hold the brace in place for the bird’s wing. “She’s not scared of you,” Will said, a little surprised to discover that the bird didn’t try to escape his grandfather or react with terror like it should have. 

“I have a little animal empathy too.” Logan told him. “Not as much as yours or Clara’s but it's there.” 

Will looked stunned and then relieved. He didn't say anything but Logan could see that it meant something to him that someone understood at least a little about what his power was like. 

Logan returned to the living room and sat back down next to Cassie and she did something which took him by surprise. She hugged him. He sat down next to her and she just reached over and hugged him like it was the most normal thing in the world. No one had hugged him in a long time. He wanted to push her away. People who hugged him always got hurt. He didn’t move though, he just sat there stiffly for a moment, unsure what to do. 

“You smell almost like Dad…” Cassie mumbled and then she started to cry. 

So Logan went ahead and put his arm around her and hugged her in return. 

“Logan,” Charles spoke up. “It’s good that these kids came here. It’s good for them and good for you.” 

“Whatever you say Charles,” Logan said. He wasn’t convinced he was the best person to take care of these teens but they seemed to think he was. It had only been two weeks and they seemed to actually care about him. He supposed he cared about them too and that’s what scared him. It was dangerous to care. 

***************************

Cassie slept through the night a second time with a slightly lower dose of sedative. Logan got home from driving the limo in the middle of the night and all the lights were out as they should have been. Charles wasn’t awake ranting, Cassie wasn’t awake raging. Everything seemed quiet. He was almost back to his room and ready to go sleep when a noise in the living room stopped him. It was Will. 

Logan went back to the living room and switched on the light. Will was sitting there on the couch. There was blood on his arm, not like the night Logan had chased him into the woods, but enough blood to make it evident that he had cut himself. Will had been crying recently too but he wasn’t anymore. 

“You don’t have to stay up for me. I’m fine.” Will said. 

Logan shook his head. “I’m not so sure you are. Not if that blood on your arm was your own doing.” 

“There’s not gonna be anymore blood tonight. I’m done,” Will insisted. “I had a nightmare. It’s over now.” 

“What sort of nightmare?” 

“I killed someone. I killed some people when I was in that lab. Most of them, they made me do it, but one of them, I did that on my own. I was trying to escape. This scientist got in my way. She shot me four times before I got to her. She wasn’t very strong. It wasn’t difficult to tear her apart. At least not physically...I keep dreaming about it...over and over…” Will’s voice broke. 

“I’ve had those kind of dreams,” Logan admitted. 

“And how do you live with it?” 

“You just get used to it...maybe it just takes time. Maybe you should have a sedative too.” 

Will shook his head. “No, I think I’m gonna go for a run. I’d chop wood but that would wake people up.” 

“Yeah, a run might be a good idea,” Logan agreed. “And next time you think you want to cut yourself, wake me up or send me a text first. I know you can heal but maybe we can figure out some other way to deal with this shit.” 

“Okay, I’ll try,” Will agreed, as he tied his sneakers a little tighter and headed out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter because I have some other stories in progress I need to spend time on but I am returning to this story if it generates any more interest.

The following night it seemed that it was Logan’s turn to be the person in the household to have a crisis. He came home with three bullet wounds and blood all over his clothes. He would heal eventually. He wasn’t worried about it. He tried to go inside the house quietly so as not to wake anyone but he apparently wasn’t healed quite as much as he’d thought he was. He felt himself falling on his way through the kitchen and tried grab onto something on his way down. He caught the back of a kitchen chair and pulled it over on his way down. The noise it made was pretty loud. 

Will was the first one out in the kitchen to find out what had made such a racket. The boy switched on the light just as Caliban came into the room. 

“Gramps, what happened?” Will tried to go over and help him up. Logan ignored his offered help and tried to pull himself to his feet on his own. He used the table as support but only succeeded in starting to fall as soon as he was upright. Will was there to steady him and walk him to the bedroom. 

“What happened?” Caliban repeated the question as he got out the first aid kit. 

“Someone tried to rob me.” Logan explained. “I’m fine. I just need some rest and I’ll heal by morning.” 

Cassie appeared in the doorway to the bedroom. “You’ve been shot,” she said worriedly. 

“I’m fine Cassie. Everyone just go back to bed,” Logan said. He didn’t need them worrying over him. 

“Who did this?” Cassie wanted to know. “Who did this? I’ll find them and I’ll…” her claws were out. 

“Put your claws away Cassie,” Logan said. “They all got hurt as much as I did...some even a little more.” 

“Good,” she said. “But you’re not fine. You need to come back home with us and get healed by the mutant we told you about.” 

“I don’t need any such thing,” Logan said. “I can still heal, it’s just slower now.” 

“Slow enough that someone could kill you,” Cassie argued while Caliban passed Logan a bandage. “I already watched my mother die and my father...I can’t...you have to go there and see her.” she said insistently. 

“I haven’t go the money for a trip like that,” Logan argued. 

“Well there is the money you’ve been saving,” Caliban reminded him. “If you were healthier you’d be able to replace it pretty quickly and maybe this healer person could help Charles too,” 

Logan was still skeptical. “If there really is a mutant healer, how come she isn’t famous for all her healings?” 

“She tries to stay hidden,” WIll explained. “People would abuse her for her power. She’s real though. What do we have to do to convince you to come meet her?” 

Logan sighed. “You think she could help Charles too?” 

“I know she could,” Cassie said. 

“I’ll think about it,” Logan said, laying back on the bed. “Just let me sleep for now.” 


	6. Chapter 6

Late the next morning Logan was watching the news with Charles and Caliban when Will wandered in carrying a glass of orange juice. He took one look at the news footage on the TV screen and dropped his glass of orange juice to the floor with a shatter. 

“Who was that?” Will asked about someone they had just shown briefly on the news. 

“I don’t know, some guy accused of breaking into a federal building,” Logan said. The news anchor had already moved on to another story. “Why?” 

“What federal building? Where?” Will asked. 

“Billings Montana,” Caliban answered the question. 

“Cassie!” Will shouted, leaving the room to find her. 

“Will, come clean up your mess,” Logan called after him. Will didn’t come back. Logan got up to go see what all the fuss was about. 

Will was with Cassie getting her look up something on her phone. “Just search for Billings Montana, Federal Building Suspect.” he told her. 

Cassie typed in something on her phone. “Oh my god!” She covered her mouth with her hand for a moment. “Oh my god...how is this possible?” 

“How is what possible?” Logan asked. 

“Our dad is alive.” Will said. “I mean I know that’s him...but I don’t see how...we saw him drown...and where has he been all this time?” 

Logan could guess what had happened. “He’s been with the people who took you two. They pulled him up after you got away. They pulled him up soon enough that he could still heal.” 

Will looked disturbed for a moment and then his expression changed to anger. He turned and grabbed his backpack from a hook then started filling it with clothes from his dresser as quickly as he could. 

“Where are you going Will?” Logan said, though he really didn’t need to ask. 

“I’m going after him. I have to.” 

“Now hold up…”Logan said. 

“Why? Why shouldn’t I go after him?” Will said frustrated. Cassie was on her feet clearly planning to go with him. 

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t but if we’re gonna do this we gotta be smart about it,” Logan said. 

“We?” Cassie asked. “You’re coming with us?” 

He hadn’t even realized he had included himself. He had done it without even thinking. The fact was, he wouldn’t have considered letting these kids go alone. Besides, it was his son they were looking to rescue and he knew he had to be a part of that. “Yeah, I’m coming with you. SO is Charles because if we’re gonna be that far North we’re gonna go find that healer of yours. If she can help then I’ll be able to help you more.” 

“I’m not going,” Caliban said from the doorway. “Road trips have too much sunlight. It’s not for me. If there’s anything from here that I can do to help, I’ll be happy to do it.” 

The rest of the day was spent packing and preparing for the trip.


End file.
